Conor Benn defends £11.2m Zuffa Boxing deal ahead of Prograis bout
Conor Benn believes Zuffa Boxing will receive maximum value from his £11.19m one-fight contract when he faces Regis Prograis at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Saturday.
The 29-year-old makes his highly anticipated Netflix debut on the undercard of Tyson Fury’s heavyweight clash with Arslanbek Makhmudov.
He returns to the ring for the first time since securing a dominant points victory over domestic rival Chris Eubank Jr in November.
Lucrative new partnership
The undefeated welterweight shocked the boxing world in February by leaving long-term promoter Eddie Hearn to sign with the newly formed promotional entity.
Zuffa Boxing represents a powerful joint venture between UFC chief executive Dana White and Saudi Arabian advisor Turki Alalshikh.
This unprecedented financial agreement currently expires immediately after the 150lbs catchweight contest against former two-time world champion Prograis.
However, the London-born fighter has strongly hinted that his relationship with the promotional powerhouse could extend further.
“Zuffa wanted to make noise – and that’s exactly what they’ve done,” said the British fighter.
“I don’t see much bigger announcements that have gone so viral off an announcement of a signing, not even a fight.”
“After Saturday I’ll be a completely free agent, but obviously Zuffa are in the driving seat because of the way they’ve looked after me so well.”
Healing the Matchroom rift
The sudden departure created significant tension with Matchroom Boxing chairman Hearn, who had carefully guided the fighter’s entire professional career.
Hearn previously described the email notification of the split as a “dagger in the heart” after supporting his client through a high-profile doping suspension in 2022.
Despite the acrimonious exit and a public dispute over a £550,000 loan, the boxer insists the generational wealth on offer was simply impossible to refuse.
“What I do know, what I can say, is my kids are set up for life. What I can say is this changes my kids’ kids’ lives.”
“What I can say is this an opportunity I couldn’t turn down, irrelevant of all the noise, irrelevant of everything.”
The ambitious contender now hopes to secure a world title shot against WBC welterweight champion Ryan Garcia in September.
Before looking ahead to future challenges, he remains completely open to reconciling with his former promoter in London this weekend.
“Hopefully we can sit down and I hope he does knock on my changing room door, because I love Eddie,” he added.
